"You were just..." Pei Muchan was already much more alert, following behind with a black mask on.
Strangely, she hadn't been given an injection, nor had she taken any medication, but after seeing the doctor, she felt as if she were already fine. She even thought she didn't need an injection and could go home right away.
"Bluffing, that kind of person is just a bully who's soft at heart and looks for an excuse to be pressed," Xu Qingyan said, carrying a plastic basin with saline solution, his expression calm.
"You have a fever, and it would have been bad if a conflict arose," he added.
"Mm," Pei Muchan responded softly, remembering the ruffian's final look, she couldn't help but look up, "Won't that man come looking for trouble with you?"
"No, he wouldn't dare," he replied.
"What if he does?"
"You still have a fever, what could you do?" Xu Qingyan smiled, "Just block him."
Upon hearing this, Pei Muchan breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought you would say beat him up."
"Not necessary, my mindset is different now," Xu Qingyan slowed his pace, "I used to work part-time late at night on the streets, and once got robbed by a drunk, just for a hundred yuan."
"The situation was different then; I really needed that hundred yuan back then, but now I don't lack it," he explained.
"That guy just now seemed tough, but he's only afraid of someone stronger or richer than him. As long as you show you're richer and tougher than him, he'll weigh the consequences himself," he continued.
Reaching the nurse's station, Xu Qingyan didn't continue speaking.
Pei Muchan wanted to ask something else, but when she turned her head, she saw the nurse carrying an IV over. Her face, which had been slightly flushed, suddenly turned pale; she swallowed hard.
"It's a bit hard to find your vein, yours is thin, eh, are you afraid of needles?" the nurse asked kindly, "If you're scared, just don't look at the needle."
"Then... look where?"
"Don't look at the needle, don't think about it, look at something else that can distract you," the nurse suggested.
"Huh? No, no way," Xu Qingyan coughed, "Uh, you misunderstood, my collaboration with her is still uncertain, mainly because I can't just not earn the money that's there."
"That's true; actually, it's beneficial for me too," Pei Muchan said, "If Lin Wanzhou's rendition of your song becomes a hit, it might drive up the sales of 'Qing Tian'."
"I wouldn't put it that way, I predict 'Qing Tian' will sell even more," Xu Qingyan didn't take the bait, effortlessly changing the subject, "I reckon it has already increased quite a bit, maybe by the time we get back, the data will have exploded."
"140,000 is the total sales across all platforms, what kind of explosion are you talking about?"
"Look, here, ninth on Penguin Music's New Song Chart," he passed his phone to her, pointing at the rank, "I bet by the time your IV is done, it will have climbed into the top ninety."
"What if it hasn't?"
"Then I'll treat you to a meal, whatever you want to eat... though the doctor suggested having porridge."
"If it doesn't reach the top ninety, you're having porridge with me!"
"Alright."
Dealing with a spoiled child is exhausting; a sick female star is even harder to handle, Xu Qingyan felt like he was spending all his patience of the past twenty years on Pei Muchan.
Chatting idly, the time went by quickly.
Around eleven in the morning, the two left the hospital together. Pei Muchan looked at her slightly greenish hand repeatedly, her spirits much improved, but she ultimately didn't say anything.
Xu Qingyan casually picked a shop and ordered two servings of lean meat and vegetable porridge to go.
They checked the data at noon, and nothing had happened.
There wasn't much to see, actually; the sales were slowly rising. It had climbed from ninety-eighth to sixty-third place. One could say the future looked promising, but calling it a huge success was definitely a stretch.
Without precise recommendations from websites and homepage exposure, a surge in sales was still just out of reach. It was like grasping at straws, stuck in limbo, which was frustrating.
Lin Wanzhou's Weibo only had limited impact; following a stern warning from Cloud Wing Entertainment, the post was taken down after just one day, so the exposure was limited.